Mini backyard veggie plot…

When we finally settled back home after 6 years of roaming around I made two decisions

I would not have a vegetable garden…

I would not grow things in pots…

I would keep the garden easy care…

But 3 months later just look…

If you have seen previous posts about my garden (here and here) you may remember the front garden is a tropical style with lots of trees and palms shading a large area. Ferns, bromeliads and other exotic species cluster in the shade. It is riddled with tree roots and tends to get very dry. Not the best conditions for growing vegetables.

But, the back garden’s smaller and gets the sun most of the day, especially near Jack’s fish ponds. I’ve suggested we take out the ponds and turn that area into raised beds. But Jack loves his fish and water lilies.

This is the second crop of lettuce. Autumn and winter are the best time to grow vegetables. Summer is just too hot and humid and all the pests and diseases proliferate and consume or kill the produce before we can.

Tish over at “Tish Farrell” did an inspirational post about growing her radishes in pots, accompanied with mouth-watering photos (take a look). So here they are Tish only 6 days old. The garden in pots is expanding in all directions.

Another cluster of seedlings sun themselves under another tomatoe. Waiting to be potted on into larger permanent pots. Silver beet, land cress, more parsley, the radish sharing the container with coriander and at the front pansies being hardened off before going into a garden bed in the front garden. My nod to spring in the tropics.

But just a minute what can I see…

Let’s look closer…

Oh no!!! Some thing has been nibbling.

I look around and next to this tomatoe is my lemon tree in a pot and the lemons are starting to colour up.

But then I see it. I have never seen anything like this before. I imagine it will be a beautiful butterfly. So I am happy to share some of the tomatoes with him.

I’ve also put a mild chilly plant in a pot.

Spinach does not like the warm tropical climate. To grow well it needs a colder winter. But I have found a species called Ceylon Spinach ( Basella alba is an edible perennialvine in the familyBasellaceae) It is not a true spinach but tastes similar and is used in the same way. But most importantly it thrives in the tropics. It is a vine and I have put it beside a post it can climb up.

So I guess I have tied myself to the garden for a while. Winter is traditionally the dry season in this area, so I will need to be here to keep pots watered.

that is such a good point – and omg are you right about the large houses these days – a little ridiculous too – and ont he flip side – for a while this spring we were watching this show called “tiny houses” and it is fun to see people down size to 300 sq feet – I got burned out with the show -but hubs likes it – and it is crazy to see families do this small living – most it is just singles or couples – but sucha different perpective!

I saw that show too and loved it. Made me think of when we lived in Matilda (happy memories) and the show got Jack all fired up wanting to put a small space shed in the backyard. But, thankfully, he has changed his mind!!!

Quite an ambitious veggie garden you have on the go there – interesting that winter is best for growing veggies. Nice of you to share your tomato plants with that fascinating looking creature…looks like something out of Alice in wonderland.

I always grew a few things when we had our own house, but every year we’d go on vacation for several weeks, sometimes more, in the summer and everything would die. One summer a friend was taking care of watering, but when we returned, my raised beds looked like photos of ground during a ground, full of wide cracks. She said that every time she was going to water, it looked like rain, so she didn’t water…and it didn’t rain. Sigh.

Oh PP. I did a whole post about that caterpillar last year. I had a little family of them on my lime tree. I loved them – they squirt a citrus smell as a defence mechanism. Hold up, I’ll go get the name of them…

I could do with you over here for a bit PP, to start me off. Though I only want to grow some herbs, and maybe tomatoes and chillies and peppers. There are a couple of raised beds at the back of the garden, but they need repairing so I shall probably start things off in pots like you have. I did, however, say that the house comes first this year!! And thank you for sharing your lovely caterpillar – I wonder what he is?

I’m not doing too much in the garden, I wander around each day noting what’s coming up (several wild plants I think) tidying up winter debris and noting down things to do. It’s just so lovely to have somewhere to do that in and when it is warm enough we can sit outside and admire the view.

Like you we love travelling and of course the garden suffers. Mind you we have not lawn just pea gravel. So we put heaps of shadecloth over raised beds and along our fence. But last summer it was so hot we lost a passion vine 2 others coming back lots of leaves but no flowers still. Also lost a mandarin and grapefruit and a lot of vegies. So decided to travel over the winter. Well that went pear shaped too because we renovated our kitchen and now my husband has a hernia and op needed so grounded for 3 months and cant go anywhere. Love you garden hope it continues to grow. What part of Oz do you live in.

Oh I do sympathise with you on your woes. Hope Hubby soon recovers. When we started travelling almost full time 6 years ago I down graded the garden to all easy care plants ie lots of bromeliads, rhoeos and the like. Emptied out all pots and did away with the veg garden. Replaced grass with gravel in the back yard and put wood chip around the front and lots of mulch, So it basically was easy care. Now I am starting to up grade again!!! I live on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

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60 something female, ( now 70 I have been doing this blog 3 years) fit and active, loves travel, reading, walking. Born in Yorkshire, UK. Moved to New Zealand, love the country. Became a "Kiwi" lived there 37 years, son and daughter still live there. Moved to Australia because I now live with and love an Australian that I met in NZ and am now an Aussie citizen.